Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie

Tennessee Williams The crosspatch Menagerie is a chronicle which gives many symbolic representations in an onset to draw the connection amongst reality and illusion, fact and fiction. to a greater extent importantly, the characters in the story appear to face certain difficulties in relating to reality, or accepting reality at the least. It goes to show that the story is one and only(a) which emphasizes the shortcomings of human beings or their dire attempts to understand the things that go beyond the capacity of their minds to comprehend.There ar several symbolisms or images in the story which highlight the attempt to bridge deck reality and fiction, to the point that creates an image of the surreal. For instance, the exhaust escape scene in the beginning bump of the story illustrates Mr. Wingfields innovation of illusion bridged by the fire escape towards the real world. The bridge which is symbolized by the fire escape appears to be a one-way passage, although this woul d have to vary in context curiously in terms of the intelligence of every character. For example, Tom sees the bridge as the escape route away from the illusory world of Laura and Amanda and into the real world.On the another(prenominal) hand, Laura sees the bridge as the way that leads straight into her world, one which is a path that gives an escape from the world of reality (Bluefarb, p. 515). This variation in the interpretation of the bridge or of the fire escape tells us something which can hardly be noniced on first reading. Given the observation that there is a difference in the perception of Tom and Laura about the fire escape and, hence, their desire to go for the real world or the illusory world, it tells us that The Glass Menagerie initially presents the ways in which citizenry could prefer one over the other (King, p. 09).It gives us the initial impression that certain individuals may prefer the world of illusions over the world of reality, and the other way aroun d can also be said about other hoi polloi. In the long run, the disparity regarding the appreciation of all worlds by certain individuals tells us that one can hardly express ones world to others when others be un get outing to be a part of that world. The scale of Tom and Laura presents the contrast wherein one wants the real world whereas the other wants to get away from it.Its not only a simply disparity of beliefs or of inclinations. It is also a disparity of what one abhors or seeks to get away from which, ironically, does not apply to everybody else. Tom also has the habit of going to movie houses reflection films, one which symbolizes his desire to escape reality and go towards places which can draw him nearer to a world of fantasy. His routine of escaping his apartment and proceeding to the movies tells us how his discernment for the movies has become habituated, thereby pushing Tom to lose his interest for the real world.It pushes him to the point of having more inter est for the movies than having more interest for his animation in the apartment. More importantly, it pushes him to the point of having more interest for the world of fantasy, or of illusion, than having more interest in the real world. Mr. Wingfields absorption into the thought of long distance voices from tidy sum he could not see but only hear through his telephone company led to his abandonment of the family.This symbolizes the idea that ones responsibilities towards those who are dearest to the psyche can be overridden by ones desires in life. Mr. Wingfield symbolizes the modern man who is willing to abandon ones family however to pursue the things that one is inclined to do and the things that one is beholden to. It symbolizes mans weakness before the bigger things that lay before him, the things which can make both realizations to ones aspirations and destruction to ones beloved family. Jim OConnor is another character in the story which represents something interesting. Despite the fact that Jim is more of an intermediate man lacking any outstanding qualities in life, he is a person who Laura sees as the representation of realitythe reality which Laura fears and seeks to escape. For Amanda, Jim is the type of person who symbolizes her unseasoned days, the times when she gone frolicking with many men. Apparently, Amanda and Laura see Jim as a person who reminds them of quite assorted things. For Amanda, Jim is reminder of her younger days. On the other hand, he is a fearful reminder of the real world for Laura.This situation gives us the impression where two people have differing interpretations of the importance or role of other people in their lives. One person can reflect differing reminders to others, which is thusce ironic precisely because there is only one person where the reminders emanate from. This goes to show that the things which inseminate fear into our hearts and cast reminders of our younger days can only do so through the ways in which we comprehend those things. It can because be said that the ways in which we relate others to our fears and memories depend on the way in which we appreciate others.That is one of the symbolisms being taught to us by The Glass Menagerie, giving the readers the idea that the ways in which we view the world really depends on how we appreciate the world, and that the divide between the world of illusions and the world of reality is either diminished or reinforced depending on what we make out of that apparent division. Lauras internal-combustion engine menagerie is by chance one of the most obvious objects of symbolism in the story which further highlights the apparent division between the real world and the illusory world.Lauras glass collection symbolizes who she is, relating to those glass objects very potently as if she and her glass collection are one and the same beings (Gunn, p. 370). For the most part, whatever that the glass menageries represent is also the same r epresentation for Laura. For example, the time when Laura told Jim that the unicorn is different from the rest of the glass menageries can also be said to symbolize how Laura is different from other people. Laura also pointed out that even though the unicorn is different from the rest, it does not complain out of that difference.That can also be said to directly represent Lauras view that even though she is seen as different from other people she does not even bother complaining about that. There is also the time when Tom accidentally broke some of Lauras glass menagerie after rushing to go to the movies which symbolizes the instance where Tom broke his responsibilities to Laura. It should also be noted that glass, when shone upon with light, refracts that light into a spectrum of colors like a rainbow. In the same manner, the life of Laura, when penetrated by other peoplelike Tom, Amanda and Jimwill also show the different sides of Laura.The variety of her glass collections tells u s that she is indeed not only a dull person living a monotonous life. Rather, the inner part of her self will reveal the multitude of personalities she has at once shone into by the light of others. Perhaps it can also be said that Laura has the capacity to reveal to others the many sides to her personality if only those who are close to her will have the time to pause for a while and give her enough attention. One of the more interesting parts of the story is the scene where the horns of Lauras unicorns are broken off, making the unicorn just any other normal horse.That scene symbolizes the idea that one need first be broken in methodicalness to become normal just like other people. That idea very much applies to Laura since she is seen as an unusual individual trapped in her world of illusions. The part where Jim breaks the heart of Laura can also be said as the part where the horn of the unicorn is broken off, thus making Laura any other normal person in the real world. Breakin g a person is oftentimes needed just to awaken that person back to the real world where normal people live.Glass is also said to be a very delicate object that can easily be broken when not properly taken com couchable care of. In the story, it is obvious that the glass menageries of Laura represent her delicate personality, one which can easily be shattered into many pieces and never to be put back to their original state again once broken (Rogoff, p. 89). And like the case when the unicorns horn was broken, the time when Laura seemed broken after Jims divine revelation would separate her from her world of illusions for the rest of her life.In real life, people do not change quite easily to the point that they would first have to experience a life-shattering moment in their lives. Sometimes it requires an experience which is truly life-changing in many ways, one that challenges the very personality of the person in both heart and soul, acclivity into like an insurmountable challen ge that pierces right through ones emotions. The hardest part of it all would have to be the part where everything seems to be unclear, the part where everything seems to be in their harshest levels, thus prompting one to almost give up on life.Yet those who are able to transcend the hardest moments in life are perhaps those who are able to break away from their shells, out of their world of fantasies and illusions and into the real world, taking them back to a normal life where they rightfully belong. Indeed, the glass collections of Laura deeply represent her personality, and that whatever happens to the glass objects has something to do with Laura as well. Given the fact that the glass objects are clear, it can also be said that one can easily see through the personality of Laura no matter how hard she may try to hide it in her illusory world (Scheidler, p. 5). With that in mind, it should be the case that people close to Laura should very well be able to understand her situation and comprehend her feelings without difficulty. Apparently, this is certainly not the case as those people close to her even have a hard time putting enough attention to Laura. That is so because each of the individuals in the story do not share the same world that Laura has. Tom, Amanda and Jim all have their own respective worlds, so to speak. There is also hardly any convergence among the worlds of the characters as each of them is busy trying to live with the world that they each live in.Perhaps the most intriguing analysis of the symbolisms in the story is that they transcend the characters in the story. That is, the symbolisms in the story actually represent the life of the author, Tennessee Williams, given the fact that the story is a memory play. If indeed it is the case that The Glass Menagerie represents the life of Tennessee Williams, then it can hardly be doubted that for at least once in his life the author has experienced moments in his life where he was broken, takin g his life back to the real world away from the world where his illusions once defined who he is (Loney, p. 9). In conclusion, there are many ways of interpreting the symbolisms and imageries in The Glass Menagerie inasmuch as there are numerous symbols and images in the story where representations can be made. Nevertheless, the substance of the story tells us that the story as a whole reflects the idea of breaking away from the world of illusions in order to be truly normal.